Southern California Funny Cars - Paperback

Southern California Funny Cars: The Birthplace of Nitro-Burning Racing

Southern California was the birthplace of organized drag racing, with the first organized race held at the Santa Ana airport in 1949 and the subsequent founding of the National Hot Rod Association in 1950. Over the next decade and a half, the dragster became the king of the quarter mile on Southern California drag strips.

Jack Chrisman's Revolutionary 1964 Funny Car

In 1964, veteran dragster owner/driver Jack Chrisman had an idea for something different to grace Southern California's drag strips. It was not a dragster but a stock-bodied race car using nitromethane for fuel in a supercharged engine. With the help of Gene Mooneyham, Mercury's Fran Hernandez, and sponsor Helen Sachs, Chrisman put together the world's first nitro-burning "funny car." It was a steel stock-bodied Mercury Cyclone with a supercharged 427 Ford engine running on pure nitromethane.

The Evolution from Steel to Fiberglass

Chrisman started the evolution that soon turned stock steel-bodied cars into fiberglass-bodied tube chassis funny cars. Southern California drag racers began to lead the way for racers all over the United States in the new funny car class.

Images of America Series Documentation

This comprehensive photographic history captures the pioneering era of funny car racing through the Images of America series by Arcadia Publishing. Author Steve Reyes documents the transformation of drag racing culture in Southern California, featuring rare photographs and detailed accounts of the drivers, mechanics, and innovators who shaped this motorsport revolution.

Book Specifications

This paperback edition provides an authentic look at the golden age of funny car racing, from the Santa Ana airport's early drag strips to the development of purpose-built racing machines. The book explores the technical innovations, including supercharged engines, nitromethane fuel systems, and the transition to lightweight fiberglass bodies that defined the funny car class.